


A year of adjustment

by thingwithfeathers



Series: Consequences of Time Travel [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Family Bonding, Family Issues, Gen, Peter-centric, Protective Peter Hale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-05-19 20:09:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14880404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingwithfeathers/pseuds/thingwithfeathers
Summary: This is the story about what happens to Peter between the last chapter and the epiloge of my previous storyTo travel realms unexplored. This makes no sense if you haven't read that one.Peter has gotten back from his traveling through Europe. He has made sure that Kate is no longer a threat and now he has to deal with his alpha who abhors killing and his pack who treats him like a completely different person. On top of that he has started a new job, has a second murderous Argent to take care of and has an unknown daughter to protect. A daughter his alpha stole from him.Time travel have many consequences and it seems like Peter is the one who has to deal with that. Because god help him, he will not end up like the broken excuse for a werewolf who had gone back in time to save them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I had many ideas of what I wanted to write next, and this is maybe not the first story I would choose. But I kind of need to resolve the whole Malia business before I know how to continue, and the easiest way to do that is to write about it, so Stiles has to wait. Well, he will probably show up here too, he has a habit of doing that. But this is mainly a Peter story. It will dwell into how he deals with the whole pack changing their behavior towards him. And how he and Talia mend fences.

Peter had been home for a week. It was odd getting back. His vacation had not been at all like he had planned. Well, the beginning had been fine but then everything had gone sideways. First Laura showed up in a misguided effort of bonding, and then the news of a future catastrophe had hit. Delivered by a future version of himself no less. He still had a bit of a hard time processing that. But he had irrefutable proof that it had really been him. The letter he had gotten was in his own handwriting, and contained enough of his own secrets that it couldn’t be anybody but Peter, or an impossibly close confidant to Peter who had written it. Well, he had somehow believed Talia from the beginning, even before he got his own letter. Even before Derek had told him about his daughter.

Fuck, he really needed to talk about that with his alpha. Because that decision had been his alphas, not his sisters. But everything was so raw between them at the moment. They hadn’t really talked after the ride home from the airport. Talia was waiting for him to take the first step. She was giving him space. Peter really didn’t know how to feel about that. The whole pack was behaving oddly, nice to him. It was annoying. He didn’t want them to be nice, it only made him feel like an asshole when he was being snarky or sarcastic. He didn’t do nice.

But he did appreciate that Talia had met him at the airport. He had felt more and more ill at ease at the flight home, like a storm was brewing. He had dreaded meeting his pack again. He had killed for them after all, and he didn’t regret it in the slightest. He knew how Talia looked upon killing. She was painfully pacifistic. But it had to be done, and he had gotten a golden opportunity. He couldn’t just let it go when Kate served herself up like that. And her boy toy was still alive, but incoherent according to what little news was of that story. It hadn’t made any headlines yet, so far it was just two tourists getting sucked to deep into Cannes party culture. Peter wasn’t even sure that Cannes had a heavy drug scene, but hey, boy toy did get his drugs from somewhere.

He kind if regretted telling Talia that Kate was dead, maybe she wouldn’t have found out if he hadn’t said anything. But he had been in such a rush over getting away with it, over protecting the pack, avenging the already dead one. It had felt good, so when Talia had called and asked for confirmation on which plane he was taking he had just sort of blurted it out. It was really not like him. And Talia had gotten quiet. So he had sort of just told her everything, made sure that she knew he had been careful. That nothing could be tied to them. Well, maybe a hunter could put two and two together if they really looked, he did fly out from there under his real name, but they would have no reason too. No hunter would believe that a werewolf would use drugs to dispatch a hunter who had burned a pack. They would think it went against their nature. He scoffed. Like it was more important to get the satisfaction of ripping someone apart than to get away with it. He was not an animal.

When Talia finally said something she had sounded both disappointed and relieved. But she didn’t say much, just that she was glad he was safe, and that they would talk when he got back. So flying home…  Not the best experience. On top of everything else he also had the whole future Peter hanging around.

Walking out from customs had been one of the most nerve-racking things he had ever done. But at least he had looked good. He made certain of that. Whoever from the pack who was there to get him would not see him with his guard down. He was indestructible. And then he had been engulfed by his alpha and a feeling of peace had washed over him. He couldn’t do anything else than hug back. He was home, he was safe and his alpha had not turned from him. He would never admit to anyone how relieved he had been. Well, Talia probably knew, he was fairly good not broadcasting but she was his alpha. She always got more than he was comfortable with.

The ride home had been nice. They had a brief discussion about Kate, which mostly was Peter going over the details once more and then Talia telling him that she had only told Joseph. She would prefer that they kept it that way. Peter had agreed, he didn’t really want to talk about it anyway. Then she had talked about getting him some counseling but he managed to get out of that. He didn’t need any help. It wasn’t like he wanted to go killing again. Well, except for Gerard, but that was different. Gerard wanted a war, so he needed to die. But it would be better if he died in a similar fashion as his daughter. Otherwise they would get a war no matter what.

Talia had then told him what was going on at home. How things had been a bit tense after his future counterpart had dropped the bombshell of the fire on them. It would probably die down as soon as the news of Kate got known. Well, Talia had wanted Peters input on how to tell the pack without outing him. That had been nice, Talia wanting his honest opinion. Usually he just told her anyway, she rarely asked. He suggested that he would reach out to his connections in Cannes, ask them about how the investigation on the fire was going. He was sure at least one of them would have made the connection between the drug addict with clothes reeking of smoke and a recently burned werewolf pack. And he wouldn’t lie to anyone if he just told them about that. Peter was good at working around the truth after all.

Talia had not been really pleased with his admission to lie without actually lying but agreed to the plan. They had gone to safer topics after that. He had asked about his future self, if Talia had talked to him at all. She had admitted that the man had refused to communicate with the pack, he had talked to the Stilinskis and they conveyed his information to her. She wasn’t sure why, but believed that it had been painful for the man to see them but not be able to interact with them directly. He came from a future were most of them were dead after all. Peter understood, there was a reason why he didn’t want his future self’s memories. But he had lost his fear of the man at the airport. It was like he knew he was not a threat anymore. He had made a small concession to confide in his alpha and told Talia about it. She had smiled sadly and told him that she had believed the other Peter had gone with her to meet him, and that he probably was gone now. Claudia had been certain that was his plan. He had come here to save them, and since Peter had taken out the biggest threat… Hopefully he had found peace.

Peter really hoped so.

Getting home had been both odd and comforting. He hadn’t really lived there since high school, but he still had his room. He had stashed everything he had gathered during his years studying in Berkeley in boxes that he hadn’t bothered unpack before leaving for Europe. So he had spent the end of the week unpacking and trying to find his place again. He contemplated getting an apartment in town, but it was not a good time for that. The pack was not completely safe yet. And he loved his family. And it was better being home now when their parents were gone. The abundance of kids were a bit annoying, but so far neither Talia nor Violet had demanded that he would help so it worked.

He had managed to settle in at his new job too. He was lucky he had got a position under one of the most experienced attorneys at the Beacon County Public Defender’s Office. His name and excellent grades had even gotten him out of starting with misdemeanors so he was neck deep in helping his mentor and boss David Edwards with the gruntwork of his cases. Edwards was ruthless but fair and Peter knew he would learn a lot. And the intense workload helped Peter settling in. It also helped him ignore his alpha. She had been shocked when he had announced his future as a public defender, but also proud. So there was that. But she also had gotten back to think that he needed help process the summer and Peter didn’t want to acknowledge that.

He had three things on his agenda. Find and get rid of Gerard Argent, become the best damn defense attorney in the county and somehow get to know his daughter. Since he was stuck with Gerard for the moment, and he was not ready to deal with Malia he threw himself into work. Work was safe and easy and had nothing to do with anything time travel related. He didn’t need to contemplate magical consequences while doing his job. He only needed to find every ounce of advantage Edwards could use in court. And he was good at that. And it had been refreshing to show up for his first day and get a box full of files to go through. No easing into anything.

Not like at home, where everyone treated him like he should be a bit broken because his future self had been so obviously damaged. He had been damaged enough to make everyone concerned for the real Peter. He was grateful for the guy, really, but god damn it, they did not share the same life. He had never burned alive, he had never been abandoned by his whole pack and he had never died and clawed his way back. Well, he wasn’t sure his family knew about the last part, and he was really sure that the kids did not know about the abandonment. The younger ones didn’t really know about anything, except for Derek who had somehow gotten over the original letter without his parents knowledge.

He needed to have a private conversation with the boy, because a sneaky Derek was an interesting Derek so maybe he should cultivate a friendship there. Sure, Peter was eleven years older but Derek was a freshman now, and had mentioned trying of for the basketball team. Peter could help with that. And then he would get Derek to tell him how he had managed to get the bottom drawer open without anyone noticing. Because that drawer had always been a thorn in Peters side. And Derek seemed to like him, he wasn’t really sure why. Maybe because he saw Oliver as a younger brother who he was mildly protective of and both Laura and Eloise treated him like a kid. Peter had never really treated any of the kids like children. If he interacted with them he usually treated them like the adults in the family. Slightly mocking but never outright cruel. Well, okay, he could confess that he was nicer to Cora. But that was not his fault, she was kind of in a similar situation as Peter had been in when he grew up. Born too late to really fit in with any of her siblings, doted on by everyone but ultimately alone. So he kept an eye on her when he was home.

Cora was another reason he should start finding a solution with Malia. Both girls would benefit of having a shifter their own age as a friend. And they were cousins. It wasn’t only Peter who had been robbed by their alpha. The whole pack was missing a member. God damn it, he really needed to confront Talia about it. But how the hell do you confront somebody who has stolen your memories without getting into a fight about it? The other Peter had asked him to listen to her, he had said that Talia had done what she had done out of love for Peter. But it was god damn hard to believe, and it was not impossible that the future version had been damaged enough to forgive almost anything just because he could see his pack live and well again. And Peter could understand that, because he had killed for these people. And he didn’t want to regret that. So he pushed the confrontation to the future, it could wait a little bit longer. He had over a year before she would shift the first time. And he had no reason to believe that would change if he didn’t make anything to change it. So he would settle into his job first, keep an ear out for information about Gerard and talk to Talia later. In a week or two. Maybe three. No need to rush potential pack breaking conversations after all. And maybe Talia would do the right thing and actually come talk to him first. Because it was she who had done him wrong, so it wasn’t really his responsibility to make it right again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waking up to several comments on one chapter was amazing. Thank you! 
> 
> Be prepared for some very dubios legal talk. I will probably not focus a lot on Peter's work, mainly becasue I'm not confident in making it believable. But I don't want to just skip it, since it is a big part of his life.

Something odd was going on. The kids had started to seek him out. Peter wasn’t sure what to think about that. It wasn’t like they really knew him, he had barely been home in six years, he had only gone home over the summers and holidays and the occasional full moon that did not clash with his schedule. And he usually had spent his summers working. So his interaction with the kids had been minimal. Well, Laura and Derek remembered him from before he left for school, he had been practically raised with them, often treated more like a brother than an uncle. But Eloise and Oliver had not lived with them then, Violet had only moved back when Talia became alpha, so her kids barely knew him at all. Well, maybe Eloise knew him a bit, they had spent a fair amount of time reading in the same room, but they hadn’t talked much. They just had the same favorite room in the house so they were forced to share when they were there at the same time.

And Derek and Laura should remember him as the sourly teenager he had been, rebelling against his parents the only ways he could. Not somebody they should want to hang out with. His fashion sense had been horrible, way too much black and even more black. He had thought himself mysterious and deep. Pretentious hormonal kid was more likely, but well, the girls had liked it so maybe he should give himself some slack. And he had come to his senses when he left, Berkeley had not only been good for an education in law. He should really reach out to some of his acquaintances from there, some normalcy should be good about now.

He scowled, stupid kids, couldn’t they understand that he was busy? Why the hell did they want to hang out with him now? And they wanted it enough to actually seek him out. They had respected his boundaries for two weeks, and suddenly they more or less occupy all his time. It had been a mistake to reach out to Derek, the other kids must have seen it as a signal. Why wait an extra week though? Very odd. But well, it had been fun playing basketball again. And Derek had potential, Peter was reasonable sure the kid would make the team at least. Werewolf agility was good for so many things after all, as long as he didn’t go overboard. Peter had cautioned against being a star player from the get go, Derek should be just good enough to make the team and then slowly improve. No need to be an overnight sensation, it got too much attention.

So he liked teaching Derek, but he needed to get his trust, he wanted his secrets after all. And it was kind of flattering that he was loyal to Peter too, it had to be some sort of residual younger brother syndrome. Had Peter treated Derek better than Laura perhaps so Derek had felt like a favorite? Maybe, he couldn’t remember, but it was a possibility. He and Laura had never really gotten along.

But she seemed determined to change that now. She had asked him to take her shopping, said that she respected his sense of fashion and wanted help getting an outfit for a date. Help, from him! He should really have said no, they had spent two weeks bickering about everything in Europe after all. Well, except for beer, they had been surprisingly agreeable over that. But they didn’t have the same taste in clothes at all, mainly because Laura didn’t care. No sense in color coordination at all. But he had agreed, maybe just because he liked that she wanted his opinion.  And he had got her to agree to him going through her clothes and get rid of the most awful stuff she had. They had negotiated it to a minimum of five pieces, and she got two vetoes. He really should just have taken her shopping, because he ended up spending the whole day making sure her wardrobe was acceptable. And they had bickered the whole time, just as expected. But at least he would never have to see her in purple jeans again. He shuddered, he had wanted to burn them but agreed to good will. And he had made sure she looked fantastic for her date. He had though she would leave him alone after that, after all, she had gotten what she needed. But no, she came back wanting advice for all kinds of things. It was flattering but it took so much time.

And he couldn’t really turn Eloise or Oliver away since he had helped both Derek and Laura. So he helped Eloise with homework, mostly in history and English because she knew how much he had liked that. How the hell had she known that? He had never talked about favorite subjects at home, it had never been any use, he had been raised to be a lawyer, so a lawyer he was. Oliver wanted help with his shifting. He had managed the full shift on the latest full moon, but wanted to learn it at will. He had said that he liked the feeling of calm the wolf gave him, which was a bit unorthodox, Peter always got energetic of shifting but each to his own. Peter wasn’t really sure why Oliver wanted help from him, and had grumbled a bit about it to Violet. But she had just said that he had helped the other kids with something so it was only fair that he spent some time with Oliver too.

And he had started to drive Cora to school, because she deserved some attention too damn it. He would have liked to spend more time with her, but his schedule at work didn’t allow him to pick her up after school, and the other kids kind of monopolized his time after he got home. It was not like she didn’t get attention at home either, but she never came to him for help. So he wasn’t really sure what to do with her. God damn it, he was supposed to keep his pack safe from outside harm, not become some sort of teenage problem solver. And now he felt guilty because he had the least amount of time for the one kid he could relate to the most. Stupid family, it had been easier being away. Maybe he could take Cora to the park or something, kids like the park right?

Maybe… Maybe he could take her to a park close to where Malia lived, he wanted to see her. And it wouldn’t be odd hanging around kids if he had one with him. He didn’t even have a photo of Malia. Maybe Talia did, but he didn’t want to ask. The letter from his future self had said that Talia kept an eye on the girl, but he didn’t say anything about her keeping contact with the family. Peter couldn’t understand how Talia had let a human family adopt her. Why didn’t she keep her? Or ask Violet? Or hell, they had contact with a whole lot of other packs who would gladly have taken in a child. Since Talia didn’t deem Peter fit to be a parent. Peter resented that. He could do anything, maybe he wouldn’t have wanted to be a parent at seventeen but they should have left that decision to him. And why the hell hadn’t future Peter told him more? Only made him promise to listen, and that heavily implied he had known at least some of the reason. So why not just tell him? Or write him or whatever.

God damn it, maybe he should just confront his alpha. Because she didn’t seem in any hurry to talk to him, well except for asking if he was okay. Of course he wasn’t okay, he had a daughter who was a coyote but didn’t know anything about the supernatural. And her mother was a known feared assassin who wanted her dead. And he had no memory of any of them. How the hell was he supposed to be okay with that? But Talia didn’t ask about that, she asked about Kate. And Peter was so over Kate. The latest news about her was that the police finally had managed to get to her real identity. It hadn’t leaked to the press yet, but Peter’s contacts had someone inside of the police. The news didn’t say much, just that a woman who died of overdose had some connections to a suspected arson. Her partner was not giving any reliable information but would at least live. Peter was sure he would pin as much as he could on Kate, because she was dead anyway. And there were no talk at all about a third party. Not in the news and not from Peter contacts. So the issue with Kate was resolved, no need to talk about it. The pack was relieved she was dead, and Peter didn’t feel any need to get credit.

He would really have liked to know at least a bit of Talia’s motivation before confronting her though. Because if it wasn’t something he could forgive… Maybe it was better not knowing. But other Peter had asked that he should give Talia a chance, and he had kept his end of the bargain. Because he had been home for two weeks and nothing had happened. He should probably make contact with the Stilinskis and make sure, but how should he start that conversation? Hello, I’m Peter, does the future version of me still hang around? Sure, Claudia had asked him to visit them but hell. The family was dealing with way more than he was really comfortable poking his nose in. At least before it was necessary. He knew they would come to them. Talia wanted them as allies at the least and probably full members of the pack someday. It wasn’t a bad idea, a future sheriff and a powerful spark was nothing to sneeze at. But Claudia was dying, and didn’t want the bite. And they had found out about the supernatural through a time traveling werewolf only the kid could see. Not the smoothest introduction in history. Well, they had taken the news extraordinary well, but it had kind of been overshadowed by Claudia’s illness. So Peter stayed away. He had enough to deal with since the teenagers of the pack had chosen him as their go to guy for help and advice. And he still needed to find Gerard.

At least work was easy, he had long days, but Edwards had a policy of keeping work at work. And to keep overtime at a minimum. So Peter was heaped with work during office hours, but he wasn’t expected to take anything home. And somehow it worked, he had helped Edwards win one case already. It had been a burglary where the only evidence had been an eyewitness, and those where hardly reliable. The prosecutor attorney had a really weak case and Peter didn’t understand how the DA could have agreed to take it to court. Peter’s contribution had not been much, he had gotten involved too late for that, but he had made sure Edwards had all the right information and it was not nothing. And Edwards had been pleased with him so work was good. And he was new enough that he hadn’t gotten involved in office politics yet. He had started to cultivate some friendships, but he kept it slow. He wasn’t sure who was worth the effort yet. And he didn’t need friends who weren’t useful. He had his pack for that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter actually talks to people!

It had been a hectic morning. The house had been in chaos because Cora didn’t want to leave for school. She had been surprisingly loud about it too. Not that she was a particularly quiet child, but there was usually less screaming. Something was going on there. Peter couldn’t stay and help though, because being the new guy meant that he couldn’t be late. So his morning bonding trip with Cora had been abandoned. That had probably not helped Cora with whatever troubled her. So he had been a bit snappish when he got to work, but at least he could lose himself in going through files until that passed. So the morning had improved, until he found a file missing. That had never happened before. At least it wasn’t his fault, this was the first time he had gotten his hands on this particular case but still. So he had asked around the office but nobody could remember who had worked the case last. So he had been forced to ask Edwards about it, he hated going to his boss with problems. It made him look incompetent.

Edwards sent him to the Sheriff’s Department to get a new copy. Peter kind of resented that, it was not he who had lost the file after all. But he had found the problem so he should fix it. As he approached the building he heard somebody calling his name.

“Peter! Peter Hale?” They sounded a bit uncertain. As he looked around he found the man calling, it was a deputy who looked to be around his sisters’ age, maybe a bit older. He looked tired.

“Yes?” Peter tried looking friendly as the man approached him.

“Hi, sorry to bother you, but… Well…” The man looked sheepish, Peter looked him over and noticed his nametag. Stilinski, well, this was awkward. He wasn’t ready for the Stilinskis yet, he wanted to sort out his own family first, was that too much to ask?

“Deputy Stilinski, Noah, right? My sister has mentioned you” He reached out to shake his hand, no need to be rude. “What can I do for you?” Stilinski’s grip was firm, confident, in contrast to his words.

“I’m sorry, I just, do you think you could do me a favor? I know we don’t really know each other, but my kid really misses, well, you. And I know you are not the same, couldn’t be really, but maybe it would help Stiles a bit to see that at least one version of you is alive and well?” Stilinski looked as uncomfortable as Peter felt. But he had promised to be nice to the kid, damn it.

“You do realize that I am probably not anything like the man your boy knew? I got the impression that he thought he was nice. I’m not a nice person.” Peter tried to make his smile friendly, but it probably came out a bit evil.

“Oh, I know. Peter told us a lot about you. He wasn’t particularly nice either, well, except to Stiles. He was nice to my kid. That was the only reason I accepted him to stay really.” The lie was betrayed by both heartbeat and smell, Peter got the impression that Stilinski had liked his future self. Well, no use of squandering that good will.

“Well, in that case. Does sometime on Sunday work? I don’t think I have time before that.”

“Sunday works fine. And maybe… Well, if you could just reassure Stiles that you don’t hate him? I think he kind of expected you to visit as soon as you could. He kind of got use to be important to Peter. So…” Stilinski drew his hand awkwardly through his hair, Peter understood how he felt.

“Ah… I have been kind of busy. I haven’t actually lived at home for a few years. It’s a lot to get use to. But I don’t hate your kid, I don’t even know him. And he has helped my family so I do kind of owe him.”

“Good, well.” Stilinski seemed a bit lost for words, and then snapped out of it. “What are you doing here? Anything I can help you with?”

“Actually there is, someone at the office lost a file so I was sent here to get a new copy.”

They talked about the case as they entered the building. Stilinski had not been involved but he helped Peter anyway. He was more secure in himself when he was doing his job, but that was not surprising. It couldn’t be easy getting comfortable asking a grown man to visit his only kid. Peter predicted that the meeting would be awkward as hell. He had no idea what to say to the kid. Well, he had thousands of questions, but it didn’t really feel right asking them. Stiles apparently mourned him, Peter wasn’t sure how to deal with that.

The day returned to normal when Peter finally was able to get back to the office. He got coffee for his coworkers to get some good will, and it seemed to work. He got along with most of them, and he didn’t even need to fake too much. One thing that was nice with working for the public was that the normal competitiveness for cases was toned down. There was more than enough work for everybody. The disgusting thing was that some didn’t really care about doing a good job, or maybe they were just burned out. Peter cared. He had a plan. He didn’t work there for an altruistic reason like helping his community or because it was the right thing to do. He did it for the experience. If he had gotten work at a private firm it would take ages before he got his own cases. He had worked with Edwards for about a month, and he had already started making noises of letting Peter into court soon. So Peter would make a name for himself as a public defender, and then start up his own firm. Or take over the department, he could live with becoming the new Edwards too.

Dinner was the usual chaos when the whole family was gathered. The conversation was mostly around the kids and how their days had been. Cora was quiet. When Peter thought about it she had been quiet the day before too. Talia tried to get her to talk, but didn’t push. Dinner wasn’t the right time or place. Peter wasn’t sure if he should get involved. He should let Talia or Joseph deal with it, but…

The decision about getting involved was taken from him, because Cora sought him out after dinner.

“Uncle Peter? Can we talk?” Cora looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

“Sure sweetheart, how private do you want it to be?” Peter quickly looked over at Talia who kind of shooed him away with a relieved look. So apparently it was okay that Cora wanted his help. Well, nice to know he was trusted with her children, his own was a different matter.

“Can we… Can we go to your room?” She sounded unsure, Peter didn’t really like anyone but him in his space, and the whole family knew that.

“Absolutely. I’ll make an exception for you.” He smiled down at her an offered her his hand. He kind of wanted to scoop her up, but wasn’t sure that was allowed yet.

“Thank you.” She then very resolutely took his hand and dragged him along. Insecurities all but gone as soon as she got permission.

She settled on his bed as he sat down in the comfy armchair that really didn’t fit in the room but he didn’t want to get rid of it either. It was the only piece of furniture he had kept from his place at Berkeley.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Peter looked his niece over, but tried to make it as unobtrusive as possible. He didn’t want her to feel pressured.

“It’s kind of stupid. And now mom is all invested and has to know and I don’t want to tell her, and if I tell aunt Vi she will tell her because aunt Vi can’t keep anything from mom. Nobody can really, but I think you can, can’t you?” She looked pleadingly at him.

“Well, whatever it is I hardly think it is stupid, because you were genuinely upset this morning, weren’t you? But I promise not to tell Talia if I don’t feel like I have to. Do you trust me enough to make that call?” Because if Cora is bullied or anything like that he will make sure Talia reign hellfire down on that school. But he won’t break a promise if he doesn’t have to.

Cora thinks it over, then nods.

“I almost lost control in school yesterday.” Peter forces himself to stay quiet, because that is not stupid, that is potentially disastrous, but Cora isn’t finished so he doesn’t say anything.

“It was stupid, this girl kept being mean to Anna, my friend, and when I tried to get her to stop she said some things about me. And I know they weren’t true, so I shouted at her but then she pushed me and I just wanted to bite her!” She flashed her eyes at him with his last sentence.

“But you didn’t?” The school would have been all over that if that happened.

“No, I know I can’t do that. But the feeling was so strong, so I kind of pushed her away and then ran. And I couldn’t be sure of my eyes so I kind of had to keep my eyes closed and so I nearly fell a couple of times… Everybody thought I was crying.”

“Was that why you didn’t want to go to school this morning?”

“Yeah… I was scared I would lose control again.”

“And did you?”

“No... Everyone kind of ignored me, it was like nothing happened, but I still feel stupid. And I don’t know how I will react if somebody is mean again.”

“So why don’t you want to talk to your mother?”

“Because she will not let me stay in school if I can’t keep my control! And I like school, well, most of the time. And I like being friends with Anna, and I don’t think she will stay friends if I have to quit. Being homeschooled is weird.”

“Ah.” Peter thinks it over for a while. Cora is right, there was a risk that Talia would take Cora away from school for the rest of the year, just to be careful. But Cora didn’t actually lose control, and she did solve the issue. Well, the immediate issue at least, the mean girl was left unresolved.

“Well, I don’t think you need to stay home. You didn’t actually lose control, and you took yourself away from the situation. You behaved exemplary. But we do need to do something about the girl who pushed you. That is not something you have to accept. Nobody has any right to touch you if you don’t want them to.”

“I don’t want to tell anyone. I am not a snitch.” Cora glares at him stubbornly. Peter sighs. It would probably not help talking to the school in the short run either, it wasn’t like it had been outright bullying. Only kids being their mean selves.

“This was the first time anything like this happened, right? To either you or your friend?” He had to be sure about that.

“Yeah… There is some teasing, but we are usually left alone.”

“Well, how about you tell me everything about this mean girl and I make sure she doesn’t bother you anymore? I promise to not get either your mother or school involved.” Peter didn’t know how yet, he needed to assess the threat first, but he was good at that.

Cora nodded and started to tell him all about the girl. Well, all that she knew, she was two years older, so it was a bit baffling that the girl had even bothered with them. But Peter got a name, and he could work from that. Cora refused to tell him what the girl had said about her, but Peter decided that it was not important right now. Getting Cora being comfortable in school was. Before he let her leave he made sure she knew that she could come to him if anything like that happened again. And to stay away from the girl until he had made sure she would leave Cora alone. He also promised to help her so she wouldn’t be afraid of losing control again. He felt like he was nailing being the awesome uncle. And for once for the kid he actually wanted to bond with. Well, the other kids had grown on him, it was kind of nice feeling wanted. So maybe he could live with being an awesome uncle to all of them.

There was a brief knock on his door before it opened and Talia looked in.

“Thank you for that, is there anything I need to know?”

“No, I will handle it.” Probably not the same way his alpha would, but that was neither here nor there.

“Okay… You are good with the kids, just let me know if they bother you too much.” She looked like she wanted to come in and talk some more, but wasn’t sure of her welcome.

“Nah, it’s alright. They are pack. I kind of need to look into some things, talk to you later?” He willed her to go away, he had some research to get started. He got up and went to his desk, booting up his computer.

“Yeah, anytime. I always have time for you, I hope you know that?” His sister had no reason to sound so unsure, she was the alpha for god’s sake.

“I’ll try to remember that.” It wasn’t really a stab at her, only a little poke, but Talia actually took a step back at his tone.

“Peter…” She sounded regretful.

“We’ll talk later, I have things to do.” And he turned his back on her, and opened up a browser. First he needed an address, and then he could work from there. As he got into it he heard the door close. He let out a relieved sigh, he would talk to Talia later, because right now he had a threat to take care of. A very small threat, but she had put her hands on Cora, so something had to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the private rooms are soundproofed in my headcannon, because privacy is a thing. And like hell three siblings with families would be able to live in the same house if they didn't have their own private spaces.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, ended up in a depressive hole of apathy for the last couple of days. No motivation to write at all.

Sunday came way too fast. Peter managed to find the potential bully and her family, but wasn’t sure what to do about her yet. He kind of wanted to scare her silly, but that would have unfortunate consequences. He had to deal with her some other way. At least Cora seemed fine, she and her friend had been left alone so far. Maybe the school did something right, because it seemed like making somebody cry had not been the fun pastime it had been in his days. But Peter had promised to look into it, so he would think about it some more. But he had another troubled kid to deal with first. He sighed, somehow he had to deal with way to much small stuff when he really wanted to make sure Gerard got dealt with. Maybe Stilinski could help, he was law enforcement after all.

There was a knock in his door just as he was preparing to leave followed by Violet letting herself in to his room.

“Oh, are you going somewhere?” His sister narrowed her eyes at him. “Why didn’t you say anything at lunch?”

“Well, it’s hardly any of your business what I do with my free time now is it? But yes, deputy Stilinski invited me over, his kid apparently thinks I hate him now, so I promised to stop by and say hello.” Peter rolled his eyes, he really didn’t have time for this but a promise is a promise.

“That’s nice of you. Please give them my regards. Do you have a minute before you go?” She got into his room and closed the door behind her.

“If you make it quick.” He looked at her suspiciously, he had not really interacted much with his sisters since he had gotten back nor with their spouses. He wasn’t sure why. But well, they each had their own lives, and his had gotten filled up with the kids.

“Well… I kind of think you need to talk to Talia. Even the kids have started to notice the tension between you two. It’s not healthy.” Violet looked worried, and Peter sneered at her.

“If Talia wants to talk then she can come to me. I am not the one who betrayed her after all. I at least expected her to offer an explanation but no, she only wants me to get counseling. I don’t need counseling! I need to know why the hell she stole my kid and her mother from me!” Peter growled the last bit and almost pushed his sister against the door. He was furious.

Violet paled at his words. “So you do know. We weren’t sure since you didn’t say anything about it.”

“Of course I know! I have pages upon pages on how amazing my daughter will be when she grows up and how the main thing my fucking future self regretted was losing her!” He glared at her.

“Did you know what Talia did? Did you help her keep it secret? Eight years Vi, eight years! How could you let my kid grow up without a pack for eight years? How could Talia? And why the hell didn’t Talia say something when I got back? Or anyone of you? Would you just let me live without knowing? How come you don’t think I deserve to know that I have a child?” Peter hates how broken he sounds. God damn it, he hated the whole situation.

“Oh kiddo.” Violet reached out for him, but Peter let her go and backed away before she touched him.

“Why? Just, why didn’t you say something? If you didn’t think I knew, why did you just let me stay ignorant? Do I really mean so little to you?” Peter sank down into his chair, he didn’t have enough energy to keep a position of power. He really needed to go, but he was just, tired.

Violet quietly walked up to him and sat down on her knees before him.

“I didn’t know. I promise, Talia didn’t talk to me about it until we got the letter from future you. She took bad advice from mother, but Peter. She was so scared to lose you. I don’t say that what she did can be excused but you need to talk to her.”

He made an exasperated sound. “I have been home for over a month! It’s not like I have been hiding! If Talia wanted to explain then she should just have done so. Or hell, you could have said something sooner.” He tries to push Violet away to get up but the angle is bad and he deeply regrets sitting down in the first place.

“We don’t want to lose you! Talia is terrified of you running off and getting killed. I know she had handled this badly, but it has been a hard summer for all of us, and you staying away didn’t really help matters!” She sound desperate but at least backs off a bit.

“Well, I couldn’t really come back here before getting some closure for my future self now could I? And I need to go, I have promises to keep. Apparently a stranger’s kid is more loyal to me than my own sisters. And I haven’t even met him yet.” He gets up and storms off. He resents leaving her in his room but he just can’t handle it anymore. He knows he’s running away but he has never been above some running when he just doesn’t want to deal.

“Peter!” He ignores his sister’s plea and manages to get out of the house without getting stopped. He gets into his car and drives off. He decides to stop by his favorite diner, they have an amazing apple pie, and it never hurts to bring gifts when visiting. He doesn’t want to come off as rude after all. And it gives him time to cool off. He needs it. He doesn’t look forward to going home later this evening. Maybe the meeting with the Stilinskis go well enough that they invites him to stay for dinner. He really needs to get some friends outside of pack in Beacon Hills, or maybe just an apartment. Yes, maybe he should move out for a bit.

Peter almost feels like himself when he reaches the Stilinskis. He has managed to push his anger and hurt for his family away and is mostly nervous for meeting Stiles. It’s hard talking to children, and this one has already a distorted picture of him. There is a reason he has avoided this meeting, but well, Noah Stilinski will be sheriff some day, and that is a good connection to have. And he is sure Talia wants the family close, Stilinski as sheriff, Claudia as a potential beta and the kid as a potential future emissary to Laura. He does not want to sabotage anything for his pack, even if he doesn’t particularly like his alpha at the moment.

He takes a deep breath before leaving his car. He can do this. Everything will be fine. He makes an effort not to listening in when he rings the doorbell, he will try to be as human as possible, it is usually the best approach when talking to people new to the whole werewolf thing. He can’t help hearing the sound of running though, even normal humans would have heard that racket. There is a brief pause before the door opens and a kid is staring at him.  It has to be Stiles. He stares at Peter with big brown eyes and his heart is beating fast like a rabbit.

“You must be Stiles.” Peter tries to smile at the boy, who only blinks at him in reply, mouth open in surprise. Peter is almost floored by the scent of him. He smells young and innocent and almost more like home than his own pack. There is a hint of grief in there, but it is almost drowned by the scent of intrigue.

“Do you like apple pie? My mother always told me it would be rude to visit without bringing something, and I think I may need to apologize for not coming sooner.” He hands the pie to Stiles, trying to mask his initial reaction to the boy. Stiles take it and then kind of shakes out of whatever state he was in before.

“MOM! DAD!” He shouts, and then gingerly reaches out with one hand to touch Peter. “You…You are really here? Other people can see you? Wow, you are so young, and not sad and I can feel you. And you have colors! Like more than the eyes, the eyes are the same.” The rush of words is followed by Stiles patting Peter while still holding on to the pie. Peter contemplates to take the pie back before it ends up on the floor but is saved by Stilinski who hurries up and takes both the pie gets his son to back up.

“Stiles! You do not touch people without consent, it’s rude.” The words are softened by the amusement in the deputy’s voice. “Hello Peter, I’m glad you could make it. You have to excuse my son, he is easily excited.” The last thing is said with a fond squeeze of Stiles shoulder.

“Oh, it’s alright, you get used to being poked at when you live with a family like mine.” Peter smiles at Stiles who blushed furiously and Peter is starting to think that the boy will pass out from the excitement, his heart is beating so fast. Peter wants to put the kid at ease, he resents that feeling but he can’t help it. Damn it, Peter doesn’t need more children to care for. This is ridiculous.

“Sorry,” the kid mumbles, “you are very different from my Peter, and well, I couldn’t really feel him you know? Well, as a wolf I could, hey do you think you could turn into a wolf sometime? I really want my parents to see wolf you, because your wolf form is awesome!”

Stilinski intervenes before Peter can answer.

“How about we take this pie into the kitchen? Stiles, why don’t you go fetch your mom? I think she is reading in the back yard, so she probably didn’t hear that we got company.” He firmly guides his protesting son into the house and Peter follows.

The whole house smells disturbingly comforting. He knows this scent, he has never been here before but he knows it anyway. It is probably a residual effect from his future self and Peter doesn’t know how to feel about it. He kind of wants to stay and flee at the same time. He doesn’t like letting other people make his decisions, and it really feels like the other Peter has decided that Peter and the Stilinskis have a connection. It almost makes him want to reject them out of sheer principle, but he decides to stay. He had decided to help incorporate the family to the pack before he got here. It would be stupid to reject that plan only because a different version of himself had gotten way further along than Peter had thought. He would just have to accept that he felt more at ease with a family he didn’t know than with his own. It was no big deal, as long as the boy didn’t get to upset with the differences between him and the Peter he had known all would be fine.

Peter tries to hide his unease when entering the kitchen. He will charm this family. It’s more important than he thought, because he didn’t think he would care. But it doesn’t matter, he will play nice and everything will be fine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my therapist quit on me. Public healthcare is awesome and cheap, but well, suddenly you have to wait until August to get a new appointment. Stupid summer vacation. So I will probably be kind of spotty with updates for a while. Sorry about that.

The rest of Peters visit with the Stilinskis went well but was a bit awkward. It couldn’t be helped, Peter was off kilter by the whole situation and all three in the family had a hard time adjusting to him not being the other Peter. Well, Stiles had it hardest as he had actually seen the other man. But he mainly altered between enthusiastically asking question after question to dipping into moments of grief when Peter’s answers were either too close to the man he knew or too afar. But Peter was fairly sure he had made a good enough impression when he left. He invited them to the gathering for the next full moon. It’s on a Saturday so they said they would think about it. They exchanged numbers, so Peter thought that maybe he could be friends with them. He knew Stiles wanted to, but Peter was a bit hesitant to become too friendly with the boy too soon. There was almost a bond between them already and Peter was absolutely not ready for that.

But the adults, they were safe. And they seemed to know more about what future Peter went through than Peter himself. And Peter wants to know everything now that there is no risk of getting unwelcome memories. He almost regretted not taking better advantage of the phone call with Derek, Stiles and other Peter. But he didn’t really want Derek to know too much either, so it was probably for the best. But he should have contacted Claudia after reading the letter. That would have worked too. But there was nothing he could do about it now, only try and get as much information as possible from the Stilinski family. If that meant that he had to accept the kid as pack so be it. He just needed some time to ease into it.

He had not gone home for dinner, he had instead gone to a small restaurant a few towns over that he had some fond memories from a few summers earlier. The drive took only a few hours but it meant that he could avoid his family for the rest of the day. He went straight to bed when he got back. It was better that way. He knew he needed to talk to Talia, but he didn’t want to. She could seek him out if she wanted to solve anything. But he wasn’t going to make it easy for her.

The following weeks were more of the same. Peter avoided the adults and mainly spent time with the kids when he was home at all. He had thought of a solution to the whole Cora issue at least. He went for the least messy solution and managed to make the problematic family move. He didn’t even need to hurt or scare anyone. He only needed to start frequent the store the mother worked at and through his charm, and by buying an excessive amount of clothes to his nieces, he managed to convince her that she deserved a better job. So when he told her about this friend of a friend that needed help a few towns away the woman had jumped on the idea. They would move within the year. Peter felt smug about that. And Cora had been grateful. But Peter had started training her in how to deal with human bullies through better means than violence anyway. Because it didn’t matter how gratifying it was to beat somebody up, a well placed scorching remark and lifted eyebrow was often more than effective. And it usually meant less trouble from teachers too.

He also spent quite a lot of time with Claudia. The woman was easy to talk to, and very good at her job as a librarian. He usually dropped by a few times a week on his lunch break to get new books and talk. She was a delight, and somehow he became her friend. They didn’t really go into anything deep, because Peter didn’t have close friends who knew all of him and it was kind of terrifying letting anyone outside of pack close. And she was dying. That was a real issue. He tried to convince himself that he only went to see her because she was a way in with the Stilinski family, both her husband and her son adored her, but it was getting harder not to care. Peter hated how much he had started to care for people. First the children of his pack, then somehow Stiles through the boys infuriatingly homelike scent and now his mother.

He somehow managed to avoid his alpha for the whole month. He did run with them on the full moon, but the full moon was not a time for deep conversations and he had spent most of that day as a wolf. Stiles had been delighted. Peter had even allowed the boy to pet him, because he was not made out of stone, but not for too long. Because he could feel the shadow of a bond to the kid and that was scary as fuck. He knew it was inevitable, he was somehow connected to this kid, but he didn’t like it. It was probably something he should discuss with his alpha. But he wasn’t sure he trusted her with his feelings right now. He could feel her worry about him through their bond, but it hurt that she didn’t do more to solve things between them. It was probably highly unfair of him to put all the blame in her corner, because Peter was nothing if not good at avoiding stuff he didn’t want to deal with. But he felt like she put too much effort in keeping the general peace of the pack at the cost of not being able to confront Peter. And it shouldn’t be enough to just leave a room to avoid a necessary but uncomfortable conversation.

Peter didn’t know what to make of it. Because Talia was a good alpha, generally speaking. She made everyone in the pack feel loved and cherished, even Peter. She was a natural leader that had been a huge part in settling disputes with neighboring packs peacefully. Hell, she hadn’t even been an alpha for ten years and other alphas still sought her out for advice. Their mother had never had that respect. But Peter felt like Talia had no idea what to do with him. She didn’t like his more violent tendencies, and Peter could sort of understand that. Their mother had been a terrible example after all. And that was one more thing that spoke of Talia’s prowess as a leader. She had managed to get their more and more unhinged mother to give up her alpha power without any bloodshed. So why did she just let Peter resent her like this? He loved her, and he knew that she loved him but he wanted her to for once put him first. Because she had stolen his child from him, and he deserved an explanation but he just couldn’t make himself to go ask for one. He couldn’t even just give an easy opening for her. Because he feared that explanation, he feared it would not be good enough. He feared that he would feel compelled to leave the pack and he wasn’t sure he could survive that. So he avoided her and the rest of the adults and resented the hell out of them for letting him stay away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a [tumblr](https://feathersareathing.tumblr.com/) now. I have no idea what to do there, but well, it seemed like a thing people have. Someday I might even post something.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The good thing with going home for the summer is free food and access to a garden. And dad. Dad is absolutely a good thing. The bad thing is that I have a lot less time to write. But there will be updates, just not every day.

“Hey, is everything okay with you?”

Peter looked up from the menu, squinting at Claudia. She sounded worried.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” They were supposed to celebrate that Peter has gotten his first own client. Not talk about feelings. They never talk about feelings. They talk about work and Stiles, and sometimes a little bit about the pack kids. This was a breach of conduct.

“Well… I talked to Talia at the gathering last week… And she said you kind of avoid her? And you did spend the whole night in fur. That doesn’t seem like you.” Her brown doe eyes were filled with worry for him. God damn it, he should have known that the woman wouldn’t just let them stay casual friends.

“If Talia wants to talk to me she could damn well make a real effort.” Peter’s mood dropped. He really didn’t want to talk about it. It was hard enough to live it at home, no need to take pack business to work. Or well, the hour break from work he was indulging himself with today.

“Is this about Malia or Kate? Because you really do need to talk to your sister about Malia, and if she has any problems about how you handled Kate then she needs to get off her high horses and realize that you did the world a favor. The woman had already burned at least one family. I highly doubt she could be redeemed.” Peter looked at her, stunned. He didn’t know how to answer that. He could take the easy way out, and blame him avoiding his family on Kate, but he wasn’t sure that would work for long.

Before he could make up his mind they were interrupted by the waiter, so he got a few minutes reprieve when they ordered. At least the food was good. And the staff had started to recognize them since they used the same restaurant for all their shared lunches. Noah made them company when he could get away which helped keep nasty rumors at bay. God, that would be a disaster. Peter really didn’t need people to think that the new up and coming defense lawyer was sleeping with a beloved deputy’s wife. And she was way too old for him, sure she was still good looking, but he was twenty-five and gorgeous. He could do better.

“So, Kate or Malia?”  Claudia prompted as the waiter left with their order.

“How do you even know about Kate? I only told Talia about Kate, and I highly doubt she told you about it.” Peter deflected, trying to keep the conversation at least somewhat safe.

“Well Peter told us, and Noah did some digging. You are safe by the way, there has been no talk about a third party in that hotel room so you got away free and clear.” Claudia winked at him, seemingly not bothered at all that they were talking about how he had killed a woman and gotten away with it.

 “Did he spill all my secrets to you lot? I think it’s quite unfair that you know all this stuff about me when we mostly talk about work or the kids.” Peter grumbled, ignoring the fact that it was because of him they usually kept to safe topics of conversation.

“I think he needed somebody to talk to, and he couldn’t tell this stuff to Stiles now could he? I think no matter what you go through, you will always protect the children.” She looked kindly at him.

“Not all the children.” Peter thought about Laura. He had started to actually get along with her. He had thought that he could understand how a version of him had been able to kill her but as they grew closer… The thought of him killing her hurt. He was more grateful for not getting that memory than of missing out on the feeling of burning alive.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think he ever forgave himself for that one. But you made sure that will never happen. Does Talia know about it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I kind of had to figure it out myself, and if the other Peter didn’t think I should know, I highly doubt he wrote anything about it to my family. I’m kind of surprised he told you.”

“He needed to tell someone. You do realize he came here to save you all and then die? I’m glad we were able to at least provide him with the opportunity to tell somebody. But it was hard reading about his life. Especially since we couldn’t see or touch him. I don’t know how many times I got Stiles to hug him for me.” She paused for a moment and then continued, “do you get enough hugs? I think you should come watch a movie with us sometime. Stiles is an excellent cuddler.” She smiled her brilliant smile that was almost blinding. Peter laughed a little before he agreed. It seemed like the best response to get her off his back.

The rest of the lunch went like they usually did. The food was excellent as usual and they kept the conversation to work and kids. Like usual. Peter was glad he had been able to avoid the topic of Malia. But he knew it wouldn’t be for long, because Claudia had decided that they were real friends, and if he didn’t want to cut off all contact with the Stilinskis Peter best had to get on with the program. He figured it was a first step to agree to do more than the casual lunches they did now. And to agree to spend more time with Stiles. Peter wasn’t sure if Claudia knew about the bond that had started to form between him and her kid, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she did. He couldn’t really understand how she could be so okay with her kid getting close to a man that was seventeen years older, but maybe she just wanted more family for him. As far as he could tell there seemed to be very few blood relatives left after all.

With his new responsibilities at work Peter had less time to spend with the kids. But at least he had an excuse for his lack of interaction with the adults of the pack. He really did need to get a hold on the Malia situation as well, but he did have over a year before anything would happen. Well, before anything should happen, maybe him killing Kate had changed more than just keeping his pack safe from fire. He had probably saved a lot of other packs as well. He really hoped that Kate didn’t have any crazy followers that would take up her mantle and continue her awful work. It didn’t seem likely. But maybe Gerard had somebody else that he could mold into doing his dirty work. He really needed to handle him too. He wasn’t sure if Gerard had any prominent followers left. He knew that Christopher would not break their code, his future version had been adamant about that. But he had mentioned that Chris’ wife had killed herself because she had been bitten by Derek when he was alpha. And he couldn’t really see Derek biting hunter without a reason so she was probably a bad apple.

It was a bit frustrating that he knew so little about Derek’s pack. He knew their names, and that Derek hadn’t really been that good at being alpha, but that was no surprise. That boy had followed his sister since he was born. And he had been a better man than Peter when he had given up his alpha powers to save Cora. Peter couldn’t see his future self doing that. He could see himself doing it, because he didn’t really need to be alpha. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to anymore. And Cora was worth more than power. And his bonds to the kids was really strong now. He didn’t think the other Peter had had that. He knew he had been willing to die for the pack, because Peter had always been willing to both die and kill for the pack, but if Laura had had the same strong bond to the other Peter as they did have now she wouldn’t have been able to leave him for six years. So he had made some quite significant changes. He hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite them later. The crazy time lady had been certain that every change in history would have repercussions. Magic would probably dampen them somewhat, since magic had allowed the time travelling in the first place, but there would be consequences. Peter just hoped that the consequences would be less deadly than the other time-line. Because he would not allow his pack to die. That was not acceptable. But did that mean that he should let Gerard drive Deucalion insane? Was the demise of four other packs worth his owns survival?

Well, of course it was, but if he let that happen the alpha pack would probably go after his own sooner or later. And that was something he wanted to avoid. This was really something he should talk with Talia about. God damn it, why was everything so complicated? He needed his alpha to help him keep the pack safe, but he didn’t want to give in and seek her out. He wanted her to be the one to fix things. She was his alpha, his family, his sister. But maybe it was time to face that she was no better than him when it came to this. Maybe Peter should be the bigger man. He really hated to be the bigger man, but he needed to keep the pack safe, and for that he needed his alpha.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think there will be a conversation between Talia and Peter next. It kind of needs to happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not dead! But I kind of hate this chapter. I really struggled with it and I’m not sure about how it ended up. But well, it has to be good enough. Because I want to get to fun family bonding. Maybe that will be easier to write.

Peter was waiting in Talia’s office. It would probably take a while for her to realize that he was there, but he couldn’t make himself call for her. He felt like he made it too easy for her at it was, so he sat in her office going through his case. It wasn’t really necessary, his client was guilty and had confessed so they mostly tried to get his sentence as light as possible. Peter was quite certain he would be able to keep the man out of prison, and he had already gone through everything he needed for court the next day several times. But he didn’t want to sit idle, and going through work was an acceptable distraction. He sat in one of the chairs Talia used for guests, he had contemplated to sit in her chair but decided against it. He wanted her to see him as the wounded party even if he hated it, and sitting in her chair would send the wrong message for that.

“Peter?” Talia asked carefully as she opened the door and entered the room. Peter put down his papers and looked at her.

“Alpha.” He flashed his eyes at her, he wasn’t sure if it was in submission or as a challenge. Maybe it was a little bit of both. She still seemed surprised of their color, for her murdering somebody in cold blood should equal blue eyes. But Peter was not the least bit guilty. Kate had needed to be put down, and it would have been stupid to give her the chance to fight back.

“What can I do for you?” She asked as she rounded the table and sat down on her chair on the opposite side of the table. She sounded cautiously optimistic.

“You can tell me why you haven’t made an effort to talk to me. Why you haven’t told me about my daughter. Why you stole her from me to begin with.” Peter tried to sound calm. To breath evenly. To keep his feelings to himself.

“Do you remember mother’s last year as alpha?” Talia asked calmly, like she didn’t even hear his questions.

“What does this have to do with Malia?” Peter asked, he really didn’t like thinking about his childhood, especially not the years before their mother gave up her alpha powers.

“I promise it is important. So do you remember? I know I don’t like to think about it so it wouldn’t surprise me if you don’t remember much, you were quite young after all.”

“Of course I do, I lost all my friends that year because she was so suspicions of everybody. It’s hardly something I would forget.” He had hated going home that year, but their mom would come get him if he didn’t go straight home from school. There had been quite a few embarrassing incidents before he just gave up and stopped trying. And it wasn’t like anybody would want to invite him either. Their mom made sure of that.

“Well, her paranoia was spinning out of control. It had actually been going on for some time. She was the reason why Violet and Andrew left when they were expecting Eloise. They couldn’t stand living here anymore. They tried to get me to take over but I wasn’t ready. I wanted to focus on my career and family, and our parents had always been adamant that I would need to quit when I became alpha.” She was quiet for a bit, Peter wasn’t sure what to say but she continued before he had to.

“You know, they never wanted me to work at the firm, the plan was for me to become alpha and for Violet to take over after father.  But Violet never wanted to be a lawyer, and she absolutely loathed the thought of taking over. It was a few years there where it got quite heated at home, Violet hated it. And then you showed up.” She looked kind of apologetic when she said the last part.

 “You mean that the only reason I was born was because Violet didn’t want to take over after dad so they needed a replacement?!” Peter felt weirdly offended by this. He had always thought it kind of weird that Violet had gotten away from the firm when their dad had been so set that Peter would take over, but he had always thought it was because their dad had been indoctrinated to some stupid sexist tendencies from his fellow human lawyers. Not that he wouldn’t even been born if his sisters had just conformed to how their parents wanted them.

“Well… Not exactly. It was more like that she was let off the hook because you came along. You weren’t planned to my knowledge, but you weren’t just a second chance for an heir either. But you did probably get a lot more pressure than we did when you grew up. I’m sorry about that.” They sat in silence for a while, Peter was relieved that he at least hadn’t been a strategic baby, just a convenient one. He wasn’t sure why it felt better to be a lucky accident than a last effort to get what their parents wanted, it just did.

“You know, it’s because of you I actually got the chance to work at the firm. Father agreed that I could work there until you were old enough to take over and that I would take over as alpha after that. We never really planned for mother to go off the rails. I think Violet and I was partly to blame for that. If we had just… I don’t know, got along with the plan… Mother would probably not have been so stupidly protective of you.”

“And you just accepted it! I thought it would get better when you took over as alpha, but the only thing that happened was that you had less time for me!” Peter wasn’t sure how they had got here, he was there to talk about his daughter. Not how stupidly broken their family had been when he was young. And it had gotten better after Talia took over, he didn’t get out of going to law school, but at least he had got to have friends again.

“Oh, kiddo, I’m sorry. I still needed them, I was a new alpha with a toddler and a new born and I refused to stop working. Joseph was a blessing when he agreed to stay home with our children, but I needed the support from our parents for the pack. And the only way for me to keep that and their cooperation was to agree to leave your upbringing to them. I really should have talked to you about it. I never planned to force you to work for father, but you didn’t protest much so I thought you were fine with it. It would have been easier if Violet had come back home earlier, but well. I needed to keep the pack together, and I needed mother and father for that.”

“So what, my happiness was the cost for a functioning pack? You left me to our parents like I should have been happy with that? After you practically raised me for over ten years?” That had been one thing that had hurt. Talia had always been more than just his oldest sister, and then suddenly she was his alpha and only sometimes his sister.

“It was one of the conditions for me to take over. Mother needed you, and I really thought it would get better. That she would get back to how she had been when me and Violet were kids. She wasn’t always so controlling you know.”

The discussion that followed was probably something they should have had years ago. Talia had really thought that Peter had been fine with the situation. Peter had felt abandoned by Talia but refused to let it show, because their parents had made it clear that he shouldn’t bother the alpha if it wasn’t something that affected the pack. He had believed them, hell, he had been raised like that. To not bother their mom as she was the alpha and needed to focus on the pack, so it wasn’t surprising that the same would apply to his sister when she took over. But mom had behaved more like an alpha to Peter than a mother, and Talia didn’t have time anymore. Dad only wanted him for the firm. Violet rarely visited.

Peter had more or less agreed to his dad’s choices for his education in exchange for information on pack politics and unsupervised access to the pack library. At first it had been to get closer to his sister again, since the only way to be important to his alpha was to be helpful to the pack. But Talia had not understood this, he now learned that her rebuffing him then had been because she wanted him to have as normal adolescence as possible. So him butting in on pack policies at fifteen had not been welcome. Especially since he often favored violent solutions, something she thought was just their mother talking through him. It had been a bit of a mess. And that was only the build up to the whole issue with Malia.

Talia had been convinced that Peter was going to die if he left with Corinne. She didn’t trust Corinne at all, the woman was an assassin for heaven’s sake. Talia had never felt more like a failure as an alpha when she realized Peter and Corinne were involved with each other. And that Peter wanted to leave. Because his ten year older girlfriend was pregnant. So Talia had panicked, and asked for their mother’s advice. Who had wanted to kill Corinne and erase the whole thing from Peter’s memory. Talia had refused killing and instead taken the memories from both Peter and Corinne. Peter’s because he deserved to still be a teenager. Corinne’s because she wanted the child dead when she lost access to Peter. Setting up the adoption had been the easiest way to keep everybody safe.

“Can you give the memories back to me?” Peter was tired, he wasn’t sure he agreed to Talia’s actions. But he didn’t feel the need to leave at least. But he wanted the memories back. He wanted to know if he had been played by Corinne or if he had felt something for the older woman. He wanted to know what he had felt for the baby. He couldn’t really see himself be happy about becoming a dad at seventeen, but he couldn’t know because he had lost the memories of that time.

“Not really. I can show you my memories of the time. But I’m afraid yours are gone. I’m sorry.”

“Okay. I think I need some time. I won’t leave, but give me a few days to think things over. I need to go. My first day in court is tomorrow. I… I talk to you later.” Peter left the room before his sister got a chance to answer. They didn’t really solve anything. Well, a lot of misunderstandings from his teenage years got aired, but other than that… He still didn’t know what to do about Malia. Or if he could forgive his alpha.

He ends up spending the night with the kids. They watch stupid animated movies and lets Peter sit quiet just soaking in the feeling of pack, of belonging that he sorts of lost during his teenage years. He has to give at least that to Talia, she may have started kind of wobbly as an alpha, but she sure managed to get the pack right for the kids. And maybe Peter could get that too.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My tumblr](https://feathersareathing.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated, sometimes even inspiring.


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